Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Qin Huairu was furious, but she couldn't go back to her parents' home. After all, a married daughter can't go back to her parents' home every day.

Moreover, her husband had been arrested and taken to the police station, and her entire village knew about it. If she went back, she would be the subject of gossip and pointing fingers.

As the saying goes, a woman should follow her husband wherever he goes, even if he is a chicken or a dog. Although her parents felt sorry for their daughter, they could only let her continue to live in the courtyard house.

Helpless, Aunt Yi let Qin Huairu stay at her house. Qin Huairu was sweet-talking and quickly became acquainted with Yi Zhonghai and his wife.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai enter the house, Qin Huairu quickly asked, "Grandpa, how is he?"

"It's tough. I don't know any of the officers at the police station. Luckily, a few of the former patrol officers are still working there and I can talk to them. From what I've heard, Dongxu will definitely be sentenced this time."

"What do you mean by being sentenced?" After asking, Qin Huairu felt a rush of blood to her head, and suddenly everything went black before her eyes, and she collapsed.

Yi Zhonghai reacted quickly, pulling Qin Huairu into his arms and pinching her philtrum.

Qin Huairu slowly woke up and found herself lying in Yi Zhonghai's arms, her face flushed with shyness.

Struggling to get up, but Yi Zhonghai was holding her too tightly, so she quickly called out softly, "Grandpa~"

Yi Zhonghai then realized something was wrong and hurriedly helped Qin Huairu sit down on a chair next to him, comforting her, "Well, I saw you faint just now, so I helped you up."

After saying that, Yi Zhonghai felt very embarrassed and rubbed his nose with his hand. Suddenly, he smelled the fragrance of face cream on his fingertips.

A sudden flutter in his heart caused him to start having all sorts of wild thoughts, and then he realized that this was his apprentice's wife. How could he have done that?

Qin Huairu lowered her head shyly and said, "Yes, it's okay."

Then, after pausing for a moment, he asked, "Grandpa, is there any way to save Dongxu?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head reluctantly, sighed, and said, "This is too difficult. You have to understand that these leading cadres are all from other places, and they are all honest and upright. They are very disciplined, and even if you have money, you can't get in."

Qin Huairu said, "Weren't all those officials before liberation greedy and willing to take any kind of money?"

"The leaders nowadays are different; they don't accept anything."

"What should I do?"

"There's nothing we can do but wait for the verdict."

Qin Huairu's face suddenly turned deathly pale. She had previously held a sliver of hope that Jia Dongxu could be released as soon as possible.

But if we do nothing, won't Jia Dongxu end up in jail?

Suddenly, he felt immense resentment. Why did this happen on his wedding day?

If he had been arrested a few days earlier, before I went on my blind date with him, I wouldn't have jumped into this fire pit.

The mother-in-law is unreasonable, and the man even went to jail.

The crucial point is that she foolishly gave herself to Jia Dongxu and even got a marriage certificate.

After thinking about it, tears welled up in my eyes. Why was my life so miserable?

Yi Zhonghai was also extremely annoyed. Seeing Qin Huairu crying again, he quickly took out a handkerchief and handed it to her, but Qin Huairu did not take it.

Yi Zhonghai hesitated for a moment, then took a handkerchief and wiped away Qin Huairu's tears, saying, "Don't be sad. I asked them, and even if the verdict is handed down, Dongxu's crime isn't serious, and he won't be sentenced for long."

Qin Huairu then realized something was amiss, snatched the handkerchief from Yu Zhonghai's hand, wiped her tears, and asked, "How long will the sentence be?"

"It's only about a year, it will pass quickly, and you have a long life ahead of you."

"A year? That's too long. How am I supposed to live like that?"

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I won't abandon you. I'll talk to your mother-in-law later. Once you learn how to use a sewing machine, you can make some insoles and clothes, and that will be a way to make money."

"Yes, sir, you're so kind."

Qin Huairu was filled with gratitude. She couldn't go back to her parents' home, and her mother-in-law was as difficult as ever. Right now, she had no choice but to follow Yi Zhonghai and accept their help.

After all, this is Jia Dongxu's master, not an outsider.

Yi Zhonghai said after seeing that Qin Huairu had stopped crying, "Tomorrow I'll take you to the prison so we can see Qian Datong."

Why are you looking for him?

"Find him, beg him, get a letter of leniency from him, maybe the sentence will be lighter."

Hearing this, Qin Huairu suddenly felt a glimmer of hope and nodded, saying, "Then I'll go this morning."

The next morning, before dawn, the three of them, including Aunt Yi, went out and spent a long time getting the paperwork done.

When Qian Datong came out and saw it was the three of them, he was quite surprised and asked:

"Hey, isn't this Old Yi? What brings you here?"

Yi Zhonghai said, "I'm the caretaker of the courtyard house now, so it's only right that I come to see you. I also brought you some pastries."

As she spoke, Qin Huairu took out four catties of pastries from a wooden box and handed them to the prison guard next to her.

"That's rare. So, what do you want with me? Who's this pretty young lady? Could she be your illegitimate daughter from your side?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Qian Datong, watch your mouth. This is Jia Dongxu's wife."

"So she's a young widow."

"What young widow? Qian Datong, stop talking nonsense. Dongxu is still alive and well."

"It's said that Jia Dongxu was arrested by the police on his wedding day. Isn't that what a young widow is?"

"Stop talking nonsense." Yi Zhonghai was quite angry.

Although Qin Huairu is young, some of her skills are innate.

A pair of almond-shaped eyes blinked, and large tears fell down her cheeks. She said in a pitiful voice, "..."

"Brother Qian, we've already cleaned and tidied up the house. Could you rent it to me?"

This was the pre-arranged explanation: as long as Qian Datong was persuaded and his forgiveness was obtained, Jia Dongxu's crime could be mitigated.

If there were no victim, Jia Dongxu could be released from the police station sooner; that's the only way right now.

Ultimately, the root of all this is Qian Datong's house.

Qian Datong sneered twice, then shook his head: "Too late. Where were you before? You were only thinking about taking advantage of my house. Now that Jia Dongxu is in the police station, you're coming to me again? Don't you even know who I am? Do you think it's so easy to take advantage of me?"

Yes, who is Qian Datong?

The infamous reputation he earned by fighting his way through the surrounding area back then, and the countless atrocities he committed while following the Japanese invaders.

Qin Huairu pleaded and begged for a long time, but Qian Datong remained unmoved.

Yi Zhonghai patiently advised, "Datong, let's not talk about your past glory. The world will be under the red government from now on. What's the use of being a good fighter? Besides, I'm the manager of the courtyard house now, and you'll still need to live there after you leave. Just rent the house to the Jia family. It will only benefit you and not harm you."

Qian Datong chuckled coldly twice and said, "Threatening me now won't work. Anyway, I'm going to stay here for more than 10 years and I might not be able to get out. Besides, I've already rented that house to Sha Zhu, so there's no point in you coming to me."

"What? You rented the house to Sha Zhu?" Qin Huairu was extremely surprised.

These past two days, Qin Huairu has been hearing a lot about Sha Zhu; all the bad luck in her family is related to Sha Zhu.

Yi Zhonghai asked somewhat incredulously, "Datong, you rented the house to a fool? When did you rent it?"

Qian Datong suddenly realized he had lied, but who was he? He was a well-known figure in the Beiluoguxiang area. He was too lazy to explain to Yi Zhonghai, so he snorted and took the pastries from the prison guard back home.

Since he's already been sentenced to over 10 years, he'll leave the outside affairs to Sha Zhu.

Watching Qian Datong go inside, Qin Huairu was dumbfounded: "Grandpa and Grandma, what should we do about this?"

Aunt Yi comforted him, "Although we didn't get the letter of understanding, we know that Sha Zhu was behind it all. Let your uncle go find Sha Zhu."

Yi Zhonghai also comforted him, "Yes, let's go find Sha Zhu. We suspected he was behind this before, and it turns out it really was. Let's see what he has to say now."

"Yes, I'll do whatever you say, Grandpa." Qin Huairu was very obedient.

When He Yuzhu arrived at the kitchen of Taifeng Restaurant, he was surprised to see Zhang Zusheng there as well.

He leaned closer to Wang Song and asked, "Is Master Zhang able to come to work now?"

Wang Song said in a low voice, "Yeah, if he doesn't come to work soon, he can forget about being the head chef. You should be careful, he just scolded two people."

He Yuzhu gave an "oh," knowing he definitely wouldn't go near Zhang Zusheng; he'd stay far away to avoid making things awkward.

Xu Huizhen and Xiangcao both resigned and left, but He Yuzhu had not yet gotten into trouble and needed to stay at Taifenglou to learn Sichuan and Huaiyang cuisine from the two chefs.

In the afternoon, a waiter suddenly came over and said, "Master He, a family of three is looking for you outside."

"A family of three?" He Yuzhu was very surprised. What family would come looking for him?

He Yuzhu couldn't figure out who it was for a moment, so he came into the lobby and immediately recognized that it was Yi Zhonghai and his wife with Qin Huairu.

He didn't want to see them and wanted to turn around and leave, but Yi Zhonghai saw him.

Yi Zhonghai smiled kindly: "Zhu Zi, come here quickly, I need to talk to you."

He Yuzhu was very annoyed and walked up to him, saying, "Let's talk outside."

I knew they wouldn't come looking for me with good intentions. We were still in the lobby, so I didn't want to be morally blackmailed by them and put myself in an awkward position.

"We can just say it here, why go outside?" Yi Zhonghai said, sounding somewhat displeased.

"This is where guests eat; it's not appropriate to talk about this here."

After saying this, He Yuzhu turned and walked towards the gate. Yi Zhonghai and Aunt Yi exchanged a glance and could only get up and come out as well.

He Yuzhu went out of the main gate and walked into the alley next to it, stopping only after entering the alley.

He turned around and asked the three people who had followed him, "What do you want with me?"

Yi Zhonghai said, "Zhuzi, tell me, how has the old man treated you? He's lent you 400 yuan in total, hasn't he?"